The Nightmare Before Christmas II
by Solitaire Emerald
Summary: It's been twenty years since the Christmas incident, and Jack Skellington is now focused on his duty as the Pumkin King, husband, and father.  But how will a misfit, teenaged, Christmas Town orphan change his life forever?
1. Prologue

**Well hello, there. This story has sort of been my pet project, so I decided to finally post it as my first story here. Rated K+ for some mild language.**

**P.S. The Nightmare Before Christmas does not belong to me, it belongs to Tim Burton, who I must thank for creating such wonders characters and worlds.**

**Enjoy!**

_'Twas a long time ago, longer now that it seems, in a place that perhaps you have seen in your dreams. For the story you are about to be told, took place after the nightmare tale of old. Now, you're probably wondered what happened after this prediciment. If you haven't, I'd say it's time to begin._

Jack was standing in front of the fountain in Town Square. Everyone was watching. And waiting. It was the most important day of his life. He was thinking about what could be's and hope to be's. Then he saw Sally walk down the aisle. He smiled. Who would have though somebody like him would find someone as wonderful as her?

And who would have predicted what would lie ahead?

"Dearly beloved," said the Mayor. "We are gathered here today..."

Twenty Years Later

"Oh, where could that stupid thing be?" groaned Jack looking under his bed. Today was the annual Council of the Seven Holiday Leaders meeting. Each News Year's evening, all seven holiday leaders would gather together and discuss everything that has happened the previous year.

He had been well prepared that day, making sure everything at home was well taken care of. The youngest children hadn't tortured the dog at all today. The two oldeset ones didn't murder each other (though they did shove one another once or twice). And the house was clean. Yes, it was a pretty good way to begin the evening.

But before he could think that everything had gone as planned, he couldn't find what he needed most: his briefcase. It had all the information he needed to tell the holiday leaders about the yearly review. So where was it? It had to be around here somewhere. He was _posotive_ that he left it on his desk in his study... at least he thought so. Okay, he hadn't the slightest idea on where he left it, but it had to be _somewhere_.

"Um, Dad," said Marie holding the briefcase in her hands.

"Not now, Marie," Jack answered with his head still under the bed. Hmm... Ah, so that's were his cravat went. Or ruffled ascot, if that's the term you prefer. This was the garment that had been separated from his formal suit that he hadn't worn since he got married. "Now how did it get under here?"

"Dad..."

"Marie, please?" And there was his book _Of Shreiks and Gore! _How do these things get under here?

"Dad!"

"What?" Marie walked up to her father, pryed open his bony fingers, placed the handles of the briefcase inside them, and sealed them shut. "Oh..." he remarked embarrassingly as he looked at the black briefcase. "Uh, thank you, Marie."

"What are girls for?" Jack flipped open the latches of the briefcase, but his files were no longer in there. Uh oh...

He ran into the living room and found his two youngest children, Ella and Vincent, with his documents. They were having the time of their life drawing on them with their colorful crayons and folding them into paper aircrafts. Now, almost any other father would wonder how in the world he would take something he needed from little children. But this was Jack we're talking about. He wasn't stupid. He took a thin ream of paper from his tuxedo coat and handed it to the children. In exchange, he took the other documents and stuffed them into the briefcase.

"Goodbye, Ella, Vincent," said Jack kissing his children.

"Bye, Daddy," they both replied.

"Goodbye, Marie."

"Bye, Dad."

"Goodbye, Rhett."

"Whatever."

"Goodbye, Sally."

"Goodbye, Ja- wait." Sally stopped him at the door to fix his bat bowtie. Even though it didn't really need fixing, she always did it before he left for the Council meetings. It was sort of a good luck ritual, you could say. "There," she said with her hand on his heart.

"Thank you, dear," Jack replied smiling. He kissed her before going out the open door. As he was running down the stairs, the Mayor happened to find him, obviously not realizing he was in a rush.

"Ah, Jack," said the Mayor at Jack's gate. "I was wondering if-"

"Not now, Mayor! Have to talk to you about it later!" Jack replied running right past him. He was so focused on finding his way to the Christmas Town door, that he tripped on a pothole and he fell into a larger one filled with muddy water. "Note to self," he said picking himself up. "Tell Mayor to patch up these potholes." Jack ran through the graveyard, into the Hinterlands, and through the Christmas Town door.

Six unusual figure sat at a long table in the Christmas Town Town Hall. They all seemed as though they were finding was to occupy themselves, waiting for someone the Pumpkin King. Why did they have to have these meetings, anyway? Oh, right: Because the Pumpkin King nearly killed Christmas, and they had to make sure nothing was too unusual. Perhaps it wasn't a complete waste of time; it _did_ make sure that the holidays haven't been in too much trouble. After all, they all needed some assistance once in a while. But, still, he was going to come here late, along with a ridiculous excuse.

"Well," started Santa from the end of the table. "It looks like Jack Skellington will be-"

"Not late!" shouted Jack bursting through the doors and out of breath (if he still had one). His white shirt was stained with muddied water and the left shoulder of his unbottoned coat was slipping off. Santa raised a white eyebrow.

"Well, since you are so _un_fashionably late, why don't you go first?"

"A-Alright, I will." Jack pulled up the shoulder of his coat and stood in front of everyone and said: "Now, uh, as you can see, my respective holiday has done quite well this past year..." He pulled out a document, but he didn't realize that it was scirbbled in orange wax until he looked at it. Well this was lovely. Not only was he impunctual, but also irresponsible. He took a deep breath to himself. _Just calm down, Jack_ he said to himself _You don't know that they're thinking that_.

"Uh, moving on," he continued with a nervous laugh. "Now, let's see..." He reached into his briefcase again and this time pulled out not a colored sheet, but a clean document. Except that this one was creased with lines meant to be a paper airplane. He couldn't help but smile and laugh. They hardly knew how to write their own last names, and yet they could fold a paper airplane perfectly.

"What's so funny, now?" asked Santa.

"Nothing. Except for the fact that I ran to hell and back only to ask myself why. I made a complete idiot of myself running here and I am most likey going to be the subject of next day's gossip."

"Now, Jack, please understand that-"

"But I will stay just for the sake of respecting all the other holiday leaders." Jack jerked his arm as he said that and his coat sleeve caught on a chair and it ripped the sleeve right off. "Case in point."

Jack looked at his watch at the end of the meeting. eleven twenty-nine P.M. Perfect. _I can't wait to explain this to my wife_ he thought to himself sarcastically. _It was bad enough that my files were artistically defaced, but how in the world will I tell her that my shirt got wet not ten minutes out the door or that my entire sleeve was ripped from my coat?_

"...And this concludes our Council of the Seven Holidays meeting," said Santa.

Jack knocked on the door to his house. His wife opened the door and looked his not-quite-what-an-official-wears attire. What in the world had he gotten himself into? How does one manage to get this torn up in three hours? She had hoped that no one tried to attack him on the way there. No, that couldn't have happened; they were all pretty decent. But then again, there were some... interesting people in these towns.

"What did you do, throw yourself against the pavement until you tore yourself apart?" was all Sally could say.

"Not quite," Jack answered entering the house as he removed his coat.

"Just how dangerous are these meetings? Last year, you came home with your head jammed into a trash bin."

"You certainly don't have to tell me that twice. But it was an accident; You know how Eros is always bumping into things."

"I suppose..."

"Oh, well... as long as nothing changes."

"What do you mean?" Jack took his wife's hand in his and said:

"As long as nothing changes in my life, I'll always be happy." Just then, the Halloween Town bell rang its errie tune through the night, following twelve solid chimes. "Look, it's midnight. Let's hope that this year will be just as wonderful as the last."

But things will cange for you, Jack. A change that will effect your whole life and for the better of everyone. It will give you even more of a surprise than when you discovered Christmas.

And your life will change sooner than you think.

**That's all for now. I know I only vaguely described Jack's kids, but I promise in a later chapter that you'll know more about them. As for now, please R&R, but no flames, please.**

**By the way, for those of you who didn't pay attention in history, or just plain didn't learn about it, Eros was the Greek god of love, a.k.a Cupid. Just wanted to clear that up.**


	2. Scarlette Bellewood

**Hi again. This is where the real fun begins, so read on.**

**Also, I added a little "song" into the mix. I thought that the best way I could express my character's emotions is through this poem.**

**I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas. Oh, the things I would do if I did.**

_"Oh somewhere deep inside of these bones, an emptiness began to grow..."_

In Christmas Town, the snowflakes fell in their delicate array, tapping on the window panes of Santa's workshop. Little elves dressed in red and green were egarly making toys for all the good little children of the world. Santa Claus, of course, was watching them all carefully. After all, the good children only deserved the best. But there was one girl who could possibly care less of this whole Christmas thing. She sighed as she looked at the frosted window. If only she could be as free as a snowflake, and float wherever she pleased and do whatever she pleased and just let fate take its course, like the wind. But she guessed that the wind made its choice. She was so bored she didn't even begin to wrap the box with that frilly red paper in front of her.

"Very good," said Santa to each of his workers closely examining the packages. "That's right, good job... Scarlette! You've yet to wrap that package! If you keep that up I might just have to fire you."

"Is that a promise?" she grumbled. Scarlette's full name was Scarlette Bellewood, a fourteen-year-old orphaned girl. Her hair and skin were white as the snowflakes and eyes as red as blood rubies. She wore a crisp white shirt, a blue necktie, a khaki skirt, black and white stripped stockings, and white boots that laced to the knees.

She always knew she was a little... different. Of course, that didn't exactly mean that she wanted to join the rest of the townspeople in their Christmas celebrations and try to fit in. The only reason why she woke up every morning to work in cramped factory was simply due to this simple principle: She had to contribute to the town's holiday just like everyone else, whether she liked it or not. Well, no use complaining _too_ much about it now.

"Now Scarlette," said Santa, "you wouldn't have anywhere else to live."

"I'm not living here forever, you know. I'm only going to be here until I find a home."

"But this is your home."

"I mean a _real _home."

"And how long have you been saying that? Like, ten years?" an elf remarked. Everyone started to laugh, until Scarlette gave a sound that sounded like a cross between a scream and a hiss. Then, they were all silent in fear. She knew this one: He looked so innocent in those green overalls, didn't he? But she knew better. _Much _better.

"Everyone who thinks that elves are sugary sweet havn't meet you," she hissed.

"Shift's over!" said Santa to avoid any more conflict. All the workers, including Scarlette, began to exit the workshop. "Hmph. You would think she was from-"

"From where?" asked Scarlette suspiciously as she walked past him as he was talking.

"Uh... nowhere, never mind." But before she left, she pondered if she should ask him about her latest and greatest idea. No, she would probably get rejected yet again. Still, though, how did she know if she didn't at least give it a shot?

"By the way, I was wondering if you'd like to hear a new idea I came up with for Christmas."

"Does it perhaps include an object popping out and surprising someone?"

"Well... yes, but-"

"No."

"Nnngh!" Scarlette stalked down the hall and yanked down the pull rope to the attic. "I'm going to bed!" She stomped up the tiny staricase and up the her room.

Scarlette climbed the stairs and up to the empty attic, her room and only home she had. The "bed", if that's what you could call it, was worn down and splintering. It was also meaning against a shelf full of dusty books. The window was cracked and the roof leaked of snow. But at least it was... home.

"Stupid elves!" she shouted kicking the bed.

_Those stupid little creatures,_

_They think they are so smart, they do._

_But I think they have the perfect features _

_For a garden gnome full complete with pink flamingoes._

_And then there's Santa, how everybody loves him._

_But I must disagree_

_(There's nothing wrong with that as he's certainly not my kin)._

_Because he just can't seem to see what I can see._

_I want to see a place_

_Where there are a thousand shriek worthy frights_

_When every time I see a face_

_It gives a terrifying sight._

_Where I can think of a thousands new plans_

_To give someone a surprise._

_Plans that will scare the bravest grown man_

_And ones that can question their own pride._

_But what is it really want?_

_Is it something so much more than this?_

_It's nothing that I want to flaunt._

_It's nothing, nothing that I know is worthless._

_I think... I know what it is now._

_It's something... someone who will understand_

_Someone who will listen and I won't ever have to be loud._

_Someone who's going to be there to hold my hand._

_Are you listening? _

_Are you out there?_

_How loud must I speak_

_For my voice to reach your ear?_

"Oh, what am I saying? I'd probably make more progress if I just left this place..." Scarlette lifted here head in her self genius. "That's it! I'll leave this place! And no one will have to know!"

Scarlette pulled off a white sheet that was laying on her bed. Cautiously, she supported her footing at the edge of the window sill and caught the very edge of the bed sheet tightly secure under the window itself. She carefully climbed down the edge of the building, making sure that no one would see or hear her. She was doing well until about halfway down she slipped on a brick and took a long tumble into a pile of snow. The bed sheet fell right on top of her and she didn't even notice pine branch that was tangled in her hair. Unharmed and unnoticed, she removed the bed sheet and put it in her bag, not wanting to leave any evidence behind.

It was at least a half an hour since she began her lengthy treck up the hill. She was so tired that she wondered if she should have just woke up really early in the morning and just jumped out her window then. No, that probably wouldn't have made a big difference anyway. She looked down at the footprints she made in the snow. Hmm... the snow was begining to look pretty appitiz- Oh, shoot! Footprints!

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Scarlette, you idiot!" She shouted stomping the ground. Then she turned around and saw a tall tree with a round, strange, orange grinning creature, staring her right in the face. She forgot all her anger and just stared at this odd thing.

"What is this?" she asked smiling while she approached the door. "It's something new..."Then, she opened the door and looked inside full of hope, but nothing except empty hollowness was there.

"Tch, what a waste," she said disappointed. But at that moment with a scream, Scarlette was mysteriously dragged backwards by a whirlwind of autum leaves into the tree trunk before the door closed again.

**Well, did you enjoy it? Please comment, my stories love it when you do. I promise I'll try to update the story at least once a week. R&R!**


	3. Halloween Town

_What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere..."_

Scarlette was falling down.. down... down... She was twisting and turning through the narrow portal until she finally fell head first on the hard ground.

"Ugh, where am I...?" she groaned readjusting her tie. When she looked up, she was in amazment to find a mysterious forests and six other strange doors, with the moon and night sky creating an errie, yet beautiful backdrop. _Wow, this is really pretty_ she thought gazing up at the sky. _It's kinda like a cathedral_ The six other doors all had some sort of door on them. Wanting to see more than a few pretty trees, she left the forest and walked past a hill that's top curled like a spiral. How something like this was physically possible was a mystery to her. It was all very strange... just the way she liked it.

There was a sign with an arrow pointing to the direction she just came from scribbled on the brick wall that was almost illegible. But she managed to make out the words:

HErE LiE ThE HinTERlaNdS. YOu MaY ENter, But YOu MaY NEveR LEavE!

_Too late for that _she thought. Then, she came across something she had never seen before: a graveyard. It was filled with errie statues and cryptic headstones with mysterious engravings and even a few coffins. Bizzare to most, but she wasn't scared. In fact, she was delighted. She leaped from headstone to headstone, looking at all the creepy sights there were to see. Then, she was greeted by a little man with a very tall top hat.

"Welcome!" he greeted with a wide grin. "You're just in time for the festivities."

"Who are you?" asked Scarlette sitting herself down.

"I'm the Mayor of Halloween Town."

"Halloween Town?"

"Perhaps I should let the residents explain. Come along." Scarlette followed the Mayor into town square and was greeted by a chorus of frightful residents.

_Boys and girls of ever'ry age, wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see, this our town of Halloween. This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Pumpkins scream in the dead of night! This is Halloween! Ev'rybody make a scene! Trick-or-Treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright. It's our town! Ev'rybody scream! In our town of Halloween... I am the one hiding under your bed, teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red! I am the one hiding under stairs, fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair. _

_This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! In this town, we call home, ev'ryone hail to the Pumpkin Song._

_In this town! Don't we love it, now? Ev'ryone's waiting for the next surprise! Round that corner man, hiding in the trashcan, something's waiting to bounce, and howl, you'll SCREAM! This is Halloween! Red and black and slimey green. Aren't you scared? Well,that's just fine! Say it once! Say it twice! Take a chance and roll the dice! Fly with the moon in the dead of night. Ev'rybody scream. Ev'rybody scream! In our town of Halloween... I am the clown with a tear-away face! Here in a flash and gone without a trace! I am the who in the call 'who's there?' I am the wind blowing through your hair. I am the shadow in the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright._

_This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! _

_Tender lumplings ever'ry where! Life's no fun without a good scare! That's our job, but we're not mean, in our town of Halloween. In this town! Don't we love it, now, ev'ryone's waiting for the next surprise! Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back and scream like a banshee, make you jump right out of your skin! This is halloween! Ever'rybody scream! Won't you please make way for a very special guy? Our man, Jack is king of the pumpkin patch, ev'ryone hail to the Pumpkin King now! This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! In this, town, we call home, ev'reone hail to the pumpkin song. La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! _

_Wheeeeee!_

"Whoa..." gasped Scarlette as she watched Jack emerge from the fountain. "who is he?"

"That my friend," replied the Mayor. "is the Pumpkin King."

"Great job, everyone!" said Jack. "This was certainly the most horrible Halloween yet!"

"It's all thanks to you, Jack!" said the Mayor.

"Now, I couldn't possibly take all the credit..."

" No, no, without you none of this would have happened. Now, time for the awards..."

"Hello, Father," greeted Marie with fake innocence.

"Don't even get started on that, Marie," hissed Rhett.

"Now, children, let's not give your father any more stress than he needs," said Sally.

"It's all right, Sally," replied Jack. "Compared with what the Mayor has been throwing at me, this is next to nothing."

Later, after the festivities were long over and done with, Scarlette sat herself on a gravestone bench that, unknown to her, was right outside the gate that led to the entrance to Jack's house. What a night! What a celebration! Why hadn't she known about this?

"Wow, what a place," she said sitting back down. "Why don't we have anything like this back in Christmas Town?" Then, a white glow approched her. A white glow with a bit of orange to it, too. It seemed happy to see her. "Hey there, doggie! What a bright nose you've got! The better to see in the dark, I guess." She scratched an itch in her hair and discovered the hidden pine branch woven into it. She threw it past Zero, who chased after it barking with glee. Scarlette thought. "Go get it, boy! Brr... it's a bit chilly out here... I wonder if the light from that dog's nose could..." Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed her from behind. Scarlette screamed and tried to fight attacker off, but he clapped his cold hand over her mouth. She was dragged into Jack's house with Zero following still carrying the pine branch she threw to him in his mouth.

"Whew, what a day it's been," said Jack leaning his head against the wall.

"Well, darling," said Sally. "at least our Pumkin King hasn't failed us." She kissed him on the cheek and Jack gave a discreet smile.

"I wouldn't do that for long," said Marie. "You know what Rhett will say: Ew, stop that! I'm going to be scarred for life!" The youngest children, Ella and Vincent, laughed at this impression.

"Speaking of which, where is your brother?" asked Jack suspicously.

"Right here!" shouted Rhett making his grand entrance. "And guess who I brought with me!"

"Hitler."

"No, her!" Rhett threw Scarlette by her tie and her carpet bag into the house.

"*cough* *cough* Hey! What gives?" yelled Scarlette.

Scarlette looked up and saw her strange captors. The first one she noticed was the one who dragged her into this prison in the first place. He was literally a... skeleton? He must have been related to the guy she saw from earlier that day. They must have been pretty wealty, considering the fancy clothes they were wearing. But about the first one she saw. He looked at least 16? 18? Eighteen seemed about right. He was wearing a light brown Victorian-ish suit with a scarlet ascot. Ha ha. It was scarlet. But while it may look like he's the elegant and refined type, he definetly... wasn't. And what was that? He turned around and she saw something on the back of his skull. It was a large crack (albeit a very faint one and just visible). It looked as though someone took a hammer and just smashed it and the impact spread.

The next one she saw looked like she was about a year older than she was. She looked like a doll. Quite literally, in fact, with her limbs that looked like they were sewn together. Her hair was a very light brown-ish red-ish and was tied back. She was wearing a Navy blue buttoned up dress that fell at her knees.

There was a little one standing there. Two in fact. One, the girl who looked around five, seemed about a year older than the other one. She was a little doll girl, too and wore a pink dress and yellow ribbons in her hair. Cute The younger one was a skeleton boy and was dressed in blue.

The other one she saw was a beautiful ragdoll with red hair down to her lower back. She was wearing a patchwork dress and seemed like the type with a soft personality.

The final one was... him. He was at least seven and a half feet tall and wore a black and white pinstripe tuxedo with a bat bowtie. He was the most incrdible person doing the most incredible act and was now holding her hostage. Oh shoot. She _was_ hostage.

"Uh..." began Scarlette.

Now, where did a little girl like you come from?" asked Jack as he approached Scarlette.

"You stay away from me!" Then, Scarlette grabbed Jack's arm and bent it against her knee. There was a loud _crack _followed by a dead, even ackward, silence. "All right, I'll calm down. Okay?" Scarlette extended her hand, but when she shook Jack's hand, his arm where she snapped it slid out of his sleeve and Scarlette was left there holding onto a severed skeletal arm. "Oops..."

"Kids, we're going back to Grandpa's house!" yelled Jack.

"Ah, Jack Skellington," greeted Dr. Finkelstein. "What seems to be the trouble?"

" Hello, Doctor Finkelstein. Can you fix this?" asked Jack showing him his severed arm.

"How in the world did this happen?"

"Why don't you ask her?" asked Jack with his severed arm's finger pointing to Scarlette. She laughed nervously.

"Well, might as well get it over and done with. Come with me. Igor, I may be in need of assistance."

"Yes, master," replied the lab assistant.

"By the way, I don't believe we've formally introduced ourselves," said Jack taking a seat. "My name is Jack. Jack Skellington. This is when I'd extend my hand in salutation, but you, well, broke it.

"Anyway, my wife's name is Sally. My two eldest children are Rhett and Marie. The youngest ones are Ella and Vincent."

"My name is Scarlette Bellewood," replied Scarlette. "I managed to escape from Christmas Town."

"Managed to escape? But why would you want to leave Christmas Town?"

"Great question, Jack, let me think about it. How about because I don't like being trapped in a stuffy factory full of workers that are high on sugar rushes, or maybe because your boss doesn't give a gold star about you, or maybe even the fact that you're an outcast who's also an orphan forced to spend the rest of your poor little days making Christmas presents 364 days early? I think those are some pretty good reasons."

"Orphned?" asked Sally.

"Yeah, it's not easy knowing that you're too odd to be adopted."

"Are we going to call Sandy Claws?" asked Ella hugging her father's leg.

"No, Ella," Jack replied. "I think we'll surprise him tomorrow."

"If you really want to," said Scarlette with a shrug of her shoulders. "But I doubt that he'll even notice that I was gone."

"WHERE IS SHE?" screamed Santa to his workers.

"I saw her go up to her room," said a worker. Santa looked in her bedroom and found her bedsheet missing, then looking down at an uneven pile of snow.

"She probably escaped to Halloween Town! That's the only explaination! I can only see that Jack Skeleton finding her. That'll be the day..."

"Here, Scarlette," said Jack handing her a bowl of liquid in the kitchen. It almost seemed it move on its own, even though she wasn't using her spoon.

"Erm... what is it exactly?" Scarlette asked.

"It's worm wort's soup. Mind you, it's not literally worm's worts." That made Scarlette feel a little better. Not wanting to be rude, she took a sip from her spoon. To her surprise, it tasted quite good.

"Where do you suppose she'll sleep, darling?" asked Sally.

"She could sleep in Dad's study?" suggested Rhett.

"Dad's study remains as Dad's study," said Jack firmly. "Come along, Scarlette." Jack led Scarlette down a long hallway. The halls were decorated with half melted candles in demon-shaped candelabras, even though an electric light provided the illumination. They made it to a door near the end of the hall. Scarlette heard Jack mutter "blasted thing" as he rattled the doorknob before finally opening the door.

"You can spend the night here," said Jack showing Scarlette a spare room. It was a pretty dull room with light grey walls and some of it was even peeling away, with a spiderweb covering some of it. But at least it had a roof and a bed that wasn't rotting like an apple. "Please don't mind the mess, I've been meaning to-" _crash! _"Rhett! What in the world are you doing?"

"Um... nothing!" replied Rhett nervously from Jack's study.

"'Nothing' is not an answer, Rhett Sweeney Skellington!" Jack walked upstairs and found a broken test tube lying on the ground in shatters. "This is the third time this week! How do you manage to keep such a record?"

"Perhaps a skull examination is all he needs," remarked Marie mockingly. Her older brother, however, stood still with a serious counternance on his face and his arms folded over his chest. "I bet he's been hitting it every night before bed to try to shake the few brain cells he has awake. Haven't you, big brother?" Rhett turned his face to her and gave a You're-going-to-be-dead-in-three-seconds face. _He's going to destroy me, but it's definetly worth it._


	4. A New Begining

**Hello again, fellow readers. Thanks for all the great comments! I really appreciate it and hope you will continue.**

**Another note: Sorry for my little typo and thanks to for pointing out that error. When I took another look at it I thought "Oops..." I'll try to fix that as soon as possible (Quite embarrassing of an error on my part). To quote "perfect prosecuter" Miles Edgeworth: "My finger must have slipped due to excessive pressure." (Kidding!)**

**Also, this is a bit of a short chapter in comparison to the last chapter.**

**Okay, I'll shut up now so you can read what's going to happen next.**

_"Something's here I'm not quite getting, though I try I keep forgetting..."_

"Wake up Scarlette," said Jack entering her room. "You're going back to Christmas Town today... Scarlette?"

Jack took a closer look at the bed and jerked the sheets off the bed to find no one there. "Oh, Miss Bellewood," he said in a sarcastic sing song voice. "Where are you?" Was she somewhere else in the house? No, he would've seen her already. Perhaps he needed to take this outside.

Jack went outside and found Sally talking to Scarlette, who was standing on the wall that bordered the lake.

"Scarlette, dear, please come down before you hurt yourself!" Sally pleaded.

"What in the world is going on here?" Jack demanded.

"I'm not going," replied Scarlette. "And I don't care what you... Whoa... Aaaauuuuggggghhhhh!" Scarlette was pushed into the lake by Lock, Shock, and Barrel. The three left laughing mischeviously, and saying things to each other like "Good one" and "Best trick ever!".

Luckily for Scarlette, the lake wasn't very deep, and she was able to swim in it quite easily. The impact of her fall, however, was enough to alarm the Undersea Gal, and make her want to see who had disturbed her. Scarlette sreamed at the sight of her, and the Undersea Gal, seeing as there was nothing left here, left. Reluctantly, Jack took off his coat, handed it to Sally, and dived in the lake.

"I've got you," said Jack swimming towards Scarlette. "I've got you. You aren't going to drown." Scarlette screamed as she felt a bony hand grab her arm. "Calm down! It's me!"

"Who were those kids?" asked Scarlette.

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel," said Jack. "They've been pulling pranks like that for years."

"Years?"

"They will somehow always remain children. Now, are you going to Chrirstmas Town, or not?"

"Fine." Scarlette climbed out of the lake completely soaked. "But I can't exactly go like this, can I?"

"Don't worry, you'll be dry by the time we've finished walking."

"Well, Mr. Skellington," said Santa staley after opening the door. "It seems as though you returned Scarlette."

"I'm not a kidnapper, Mr. Claws," Jack replied icily.

"Jack, what am I going to do now?" groaned Scarlette desprately with head in her hands.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." All was silent. "What? Am I suddendly the only one who knows that quote? Scarlette? No? Really? Anyway, Sandy, I wanted to discuss..."

"No," Santa said coldly.

"You didn't even know what I was going to say."

"You can't just take over other people's holidays. Especially after you've done it once. It's the law."

"That was not what I was going to say." Santa's face turned red as his suit.

"Oh... Then what is it?"

"Well, my wife, children, and I have talked about adopting Scarlette."

"WHAT? As Santa yelled, he accidentally pulled on Scarlette's tie.

"Well, you don't seem like a better guardian considering you're about to murder the girl. Don't chase the workers, little ones." After Jack left to find Ella and Vincent, Santa asked Sally, Marie, Rhett, and Scarlette to take a seat on the sofa.

Scarlette, however, was a bit awestruck. Did Jack really just say that? Adopt? That must have been the best five letter word she's ever heard.

"Now, Santa, you know that Jack's a good parent," Sally insisted.

"Well, yes, but I still don't know if I can shake off what happened all those years ago."

"You still can't forgive Dad for that?" asked Rhett.

"I never forgave you the time you dunked my head in the well," added Marie.

"That was when you were seven and I thought it was empty!"

"My point is," interrupted Sally trying to avoid a fight. "If you can't do it for Jack, then do it for me, do it for the rest of our children."

"But I still can't imagine Jack taking care of-" started Santa. Scarlette bounded out of her seat and shook the entire coffee table. She didn't even begin to consider her actions when she shouted to Santa:

"You can give presents to two billion kids, but you can't give me the one thing I want when this is the perfect opportunity?" She ran up to her room in tears, not noticing that she dashed right past Jack. He sent the children back to their mother and seached for where Scarlette could have gone. When he found the door, he knocked twice.

"Scarlette?" he asked. "Scarlette, it's me, Jack."

"Fine," she replied on the bed with her knees up to her chin. When he attempted to enter, however, he bumped his head on the too low arch. She couldn't help but giggle at what happened. Then she came to realize that he was actually a whole lot taller than most of the residents in his own holiday world. At least two feet taller Seeing that his height was an obstacle, he resorted to walking on his knees.

"Scarlette," he said. "You probably think that Sandy Claws can just do anything. That you can just wish it and, poof, it's there. But it takes so much more than that. Sometimes, it takes this." He points to her heart. "It may take a lot of them, but when they are all together, nothing is impossible."

"Really?"

"Of course! You just have to have faith in it, and never let it go. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, I think I can," replied Scarlette smiling.

"Excellent. Now, let's see if we can get Sandy Claws to change his mind before my knees give out." But Santa had been watching the two the entire time. He had heard what Jack had said. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, Jack was right: It was more than just a Santa Claus miracle that she needed. So much more. He went back downstaris and told everyone his final discision.

"Well, Jack," he sighed. "I suppose I could let her stay in your town for a month. If she is happy, then she can call it a permanent home."

"I assure you, Sandy, that Scarlette will be treated with upmost care," answered Jack. "Isn't that right, Scarlette?" But Scarlette could only nod. "Right."

**Well? What do you think? Please read and review.**

**Also, I may not be able to update in one or two of the coming weeks. I have tech week for a musical at my local theatre and performances after that. I promise, though, that I'll try not to keep you waiting too long!**


	5. Scarlette's Days

**Welcome back! This is the latest chapter of my little story. It's a long chapter, so if you've got a snack on hand, now might be a good time to eat it.**

_"There were objects so peculiar, they were not to be believe_..."

On Scarlette's first days, Jack thought it would be appropriate to give her a proper tour of Halloween Town, and introduce her to all the residents. Scarlette was, of course, more than anxious to do so.

"This is Halloween Town Square," Jack said. "Just about everyone passes through here at least once a day." Lock, Shock, and Barrel ran across them as they were about to take another step, and knocked over a cart of bones without even caring. "And I do mean every-"

"Jack! Look out!" Scarlette shouted. She knocked him over on the ground.

"Ow! Scarlette, just what are so worried about?"

"Them!" She twisted Jack's skull to the right. There, he could see four vampire brothers, all at different heights. They were all carrying black umbrellas to sheild them from the sun.

"Them? They wouldn't-"

"We need to think of something quick!" Jack took the opportunity to get back on his feet as Scarlette thought for a moment. "I know! Jack, let me see your coat!"

"Because...?"

"Just do it. I mean, please let me see it."

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." He removed his coat and handed it to Scarlette, who almost yanked it out of his hands. She began to search the inside pockets. "What in the cursed jack-o-lantern are you doing?"

"Aha!" She found a silver cross in side the coat. Feeling rather daring, she approached the vampire brothers. She wraped the black silk cord around wrist and shouted: "Hey, you! Still want my blood? Well think again!" She threw out her arm to show them the cross dangled from her wrist.

There was an ackward silence. Scarlette was beging to feel a bit more embarrassed than frightened or proud.

"Um... why isn't this working?" Scarlette asked silently.

"Because crosses do not have an effect on us, my friend," the eldest Vampire Brother replied.

"But my book said-"

"Oh, don't tell me you believe in those ridiculous tales," Jack said. "After all, they're nothing more than people's own absurd fantisies, not fact. You don't believe them, do you?"

"...Of course, not! Heheheheh." From nowhere, a small rock was thrown at her head. "Ouch! What the-" She looked over as she rubbed her forehead and saw three weird-looking kids. One was dressed as a devil, another a witch, and the last a skeleton. "Hey, I know you, you're those kids who pushed me into the lake!"

"Yup!" replied Lock.

"We just wanted to give you a 'welcome to the neighborhood' present!" added Shock.

"Wow..." Barrel said in a daze staring at Scarlette. "You're so pretty..." Shock slapped him across the face.

"Well," Jack interrupted. "I really do hate to break up this insane love affair, but just what are you planning under my eyes?"

"What makes you think you have to know anything about it?" asked Lock.

"I just so happened to be the Pumpkin Ki-"

"Hey, look!" Barrel shouted. He pointed to a forest green beetle on the ground. "I think when we hit her with that rock it knocked it out."

"Well don't just stand there, stupid!" demanded Shock. "Get it!" Barrel picked up the beetle and put it in a little brown sack. The sack looked as though it already had a few items in it.

Before Jack could get a better look at it, the three chaos makers ran off, laughing maliciously.

"Hmm... There's definetly something going own here," Jack said with suspicion.

"Was that thing really in my hair?" asked Scarlette.

Oogie Boogie. Just a whisper of the name in Halloween Town- or any other town, for that matter- flooded haunting memories of the evil he created to those who were caught in his crazy web of horror, which was just about everyone.

Luckily, Jack had given Oogie's demise a long time ago. In fact, it was exactly twenty years since Oogie was ripped open. Everyone thought that they could finally live in peace.

Thought.

The three "Oogie's Boys" were running through the graveyard, looking over their shoulder to see if anyone was watching their movements. Fortunate for them, the King of Nightmares had been too busy on other things, now. After all, Oogie was gone, so he had one less thing to worry about... right?

But he had forgotten about the most important part to destroy: Oogie's burlap sack still dangling over that ever famous roulette wheel. The lights and flashes had been gone, but the danger and peril still remained.

It was there that the three kids still reamain. Now, though, they were collecting bugs and filling that sack with the little insects.

"How long do you think till he's ready?" asked Barrel anxiously.

"I'd say in about another month," replied Shock with an evil smile.

The Vampire Brothers wern't the only residents Scarlette met throughout her weeks. She had met two witches who owned a little shop around the corner. One was tall and one was short. They had let Scarlette see if she could brew a mix. Unfortunetly, when she thought it was a cough syrup and gave it to Rhett when he had that cold, it turned out to be a vomiting syrup and Rhett had more things to worry about than a few coughs. Let's just say Sally was giving out the medicines from now on.

She had met the Three Mister Hydes, whom each one of the smaller Hydes fit into the larger one's hat. But when she shook the smallest Mr. Hyde's hand as he was still at the very top, they all came tumbling down. "Not to worry," the largest one said. "It happens all the time."

Next was the Hanging Tree, with five hanging men dangling from his branches. After shaking her hand with the Hanging Tree's branch arm and each of the hang's men's hands, she had began exploration of the Hallow Tree, a large tree with branches like enormous hands.

Among others were the Clown with the Tear Away Face, who rode on a unicycle everywhere he went; a Behemoth with an axe in his head, who raised bright orange pumpkins the size of wagon wheels; and a family of corpses, who looked as though they had been dead for over fifty years.

Now she and Jack were sitting at the edge of the fountain, as Jack asked her questions about her life in Christmas Town.

"Ugh, it was horrible," Scarlette groaned. "There was nothing exciting, and everything was always the same as the last."

"Now, Christmas Town can't be that tiring."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about Christmas Town, Jack, a whole lot." _Splash!_ Water from the fountian spashed all over them, making both of them soaking wet. "W-What just...?"

"Oops," said Lock tauntingly. "We must have accidentally splashed you with that! So sorry."

"That's it! I've had enough of you!" Scarlette paused for a short moment and gave her trademark hiss and scream.

"My, my," said Jack clapping his hands. "I've never heard such a shriek. Quite like a serpent's cry."

"Wow..." Barrel gasped. "You're so talented..." Shock slapped him across the face again.

"Now, if you would kindly leave us, I promise I won't bury you alive."

"Fine," Shock said. They ran off laughing. As they ran, they dashed past the Mayor's hearse, nearly making him crash into the gate. Luckily, he had managed to hit the brakes just in time.

"Those stupid kids," he mumbled stepping out of the vehicle. "Jack! Scarlette! How are you this fine day?"

"Quite well, Mayor," Jack replied. "It has indeed been a pleasant day."

"I couldn't agree more. But that's not why I'm here. What I wanted to do was have a discussion about next Hallow-"

"Oh, look at the time," said Jack looking at his imaginary watch. " I wish I could stop and chat, but I need to, um, feed my piano. I mean, practice my dog. I mean, practice my piano. Let's go, Scarlette."

"Huh?" said Scarlette. But she was pulled away by Jack before she could get an answer.

"It wasn't a complete lie," said Jack entering Town Hall. "I really needed to get some practice in." _Wow _thought Scarlette._ And I thought we prepared early. _

The Halloween Town Hall was a bit different from the Christmas Town Hall. The Christmas Town Hall was just a very large room with a long table and chairs. Halloween Town Hall had a complete stage and podium, and long benches like pews in a church. Above the Hall was a stained-glass window with a spider.

Jack sat down on the piano bench and played a spectacular piece. Scarlette was even more amazed that he was playing it without any sheet music! And with only four fingers! She watched as Jack's bony fingers hit the keys that created the sound. Before she knew it, he was finished. "Do you like it? It's a composition I found called 'Victor's Theme'".

"Yeah! It was..." replied Scarlette trying to find the right words. "spectacular! How long have you been playing?"

"Over 150 years, and still my bony fingers have the urge to hit those keys." He played a glissando from the very left side of the piano to the right side.

"..."

"Anyways, let's go back outside. I don't think the Mayor is there now."

Fortunetely for them, the Mayor was no longer present ("I think he went after those kids into the graveyard after they tried to take apart his hearse", the largest Mr. Hyde told them.").

"Perhaps we should see Dr. Finkelstein then," Jack suggested.

Scarlette looked down at the path that led to the Mad Scientist's home. There were little puddles that defintely wern't water, and Scarlette, or Jack for that matter, didn't dare step in them. They could have been failed liquid explosives for all they knew.

There were also a plethora of frogs lining the walkway, all ones that could croak loudly. Scarlette found this out quite soon as one gave a loud _CROAK! _after she accidentally stepped on one.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Jack gave the door three knocks. When Dr. Finkelstein came to the door, his head was open, exposing his brain.

"Ah, hello, Jack, Scarlette," said Dr. Finkelstein closing his head.

"Hello, Doctor," greeted Jack.

"Hi," Scarlette added.

"So good to see you," Dr. Finkelstein continued. "The rest of your family are here, Jack. Jewel, please prepare some soup." Jewel gave a nod and headed to the kitchen. "That reminds me: Did I ever tell you about the time your mother used to poison me so she could escape with your father?" If Jack's face could somehow turn another shade paler, it certainly did.

"How did she do it?" asked Ella.

"Now, Doctor don't give them any ideas," said Sally.

"Oh, they're all very good children, aren't you now?" said Doctor Finkelstein. They nodded their heads as an eager "yes".

"But-" protested Jack.

"Hey, I wanna hear this!" said Scarlette.

"It's settled then. You're mother would make soup with the usual things that Jewel uses: frog's breath, worm's wort. But there was one very important ingrediant she added: Deadly Nightshade. She used it almost every time she made me soup so she could escape with your father."

"How romantic," mused Marie.

"You wish," Rhett sniped. Marie gave her brother a shove. He shoved her back. Soon, they were shoving each other harder and knocked each other on the ground. Jewel was so busy watching the action that she didn't notice just what she was putting in the soup.

Marie pulled off Rhett's bright red ascot from his throat. To return the favor, he pulled out her blue ribbon, causing her red hair to fall from its tied back style. Still, they continued to attack each other.

"Stop this at once!" Jack finally shouted. The two siblings finally got up and reluctantly handed each other's accessories, giving each other piercing stares. "I don't know why or how this all started, but now it stops and will not start again!"

"Oh, calm down, Pumpkin Head," said Dr. Finkelstein almost carelessly. "You'll wear down your jaw bone." He took a sip of the soup. Then he passed out right on the table.

"Oh my god! He's dead!" Rhett shouted.

"Don't be naive," Marie hissed. "He's probably just fainted 'cause Jewel was too distracted by our little fight. Which _you _started."

"_I _started? _You _are the one who always tortures me. That was to show you some payback."

"You stupid-"

"This could go on for some time," said Jack as they continue to argue. "Let's go home for now. I'm sure they'll know where we've gone soon enough."

Scarlette lay in bed that night, thinking about all the weeks so far. Never would she had thought that she would go somewhere as exciting as this.

And never would she had thought that a whole town would be willing to practically adopt her.

"Daddy," said Ella. The youngest children's room was a mere thin wall away. "Tell us about the time when you tried to take over Christmas."

"But you've heared it so many times already," said Jack.

"But we want to hear it again," said Vincent.

"Well, all right." Scarlette quietly got as close as she could to the wall to hear the story.

"It was quite some time ago, on Halloween night," he said. "I was bored with the same old celebration year after year, and felt so empty, so lost, and wanted to find something new. Then, without me knowing it, I came across something new: six strange trees with doors on them. I was quite excited and, after looking aroud a bit, I opened the door with a tree on it. But nothing was there, and I was about to turn around until I was wisked away into Christmas Town.

"Once I set my eyes on that place, I knew it was what I was looking for. Everyone was spreading joy and everything was so bright and so vivid. Wanting to prove I was not making this place up, I took a few of these things back home with me.

"Once back home, I held a town meeting to show everyone what I had found. Everyone was excited, especially with the part about Sandy Claws, but they didn't really understand what Christmas Land felt like for me.

"Wanting to learn more, I borrowed equipment from Grandpa Finkelstein and performed tests in my study on those curious objects of Christmas Town. I tried to find it all through the night, but nothing was successful and I grew frustrated. Then, it hit me: Why couldn't I celebrate Christmas? In fact I got the whole town involved. But your mother told me many times that this Christmas thing was bad idea. Unfortunetly, I was blinded by my selfishness and was too foolish to listen to her. I even had Sandy come over to town so I could tell him that I would handle Christmas this year.

"And so Christmas came one cold night. Everyone was prepared with their gifts and decorations and I was ready to take off in my sleigh. Until there was unpredicted fog. At first I thought it was all over, but then Zero's bright nose led the way through the clouded sky.

"When I went to deliver the presents, it didn't go quite as planned. At first I thought everyone was screaming with delight. But they wern't. That was when I was shot straight out of the sky." Scarlette silently swallowed the lump in her throat.

"And soon there I was, just lifelessly dangling from a statue in a cemetary. After Zero found me, I felt so guilty that I thought I might as well just let myself wither away right on the spot. Then, I realized that I was the one who had to rescue Sandy and your mother from the evil Oogie Boogie.

"When I arrived at Oogie's lair, he thought I was shot dead and was quite surprised. Nevertheless, he had an impressive deadly contraption waiting for me. I went back and forth and left and right and up and down. Until I found a lose string that I pulled as hard as I could and Oogie's bugs were burt to ashes.

"But my favorite part was when I realized how much in love I was with your mother. I admit that I still feel the guit of what I did even after all those years. But you know what? One day Sandy came over and asked me, 'Do you remember the time when the sky was so dark, and the moon shone so bright, when a million small children pretending to sleep, nearly didn't have Christmas at all, so to speak? Now, would, if you could turn that mighty old clock back to that long faithful night, now, think carefully, Jack. Would you do it all over again, knowing what you know now, knowing what you knew then?' And I just smiled and turned and asked softly at him 'Wouldn't you?'

"Do you know why I chose that answer? Because I wouldn't have my wife you children to take care of. Goodnight, darlings." He tucked them in and left.

"So that's why Santa never seems to like Jack coming to see him," said Scarlette getting back into to bed.

She thought about some things in her past. When she was just a kid, she didn't really take much notice that she was an orphan. But when she saw children just like her walking together with a man and a woman, she finally came to realize something.

Being an orphan is different from having a family.

At first she tried to ignore it. Later, though, she wanted more than nothing to have a nice man and woman walk together with her. They could make snowmen, read stories by the fire, and decorate bright green trees.

She would look very hard at each couple that walked past her. Maybe they would share a feature, like eyes or a nose.

They never did.

As Scarlette though about these things, she drifted into sleep. She dreamt of snowfakes and sugarplums, then of ghouls and shreiks, and soon nothing at all.

Scarlette was sitting in the living room cozily reading a book. It was titled _The Encyclopedia of Shreiks and Spooks._ Jack had read and studied it many times in his days when he began his reign as Pumpkin King. She thought that she could pick up some tips from this book.

Jack walked into the living room as well. He bowed his head and tapped his right index finger against his temple in thought. Then he looked to Scarlette.

"Scarlette," he said. "I'm going to need a model for a little impalement stunt I've decided to experiment with. Are you interested?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure, Jack, whatever you say," she said paying almost no attention.

"Excellent." Jack made his way into the kitchen. There was rattling of metal before he walked out with a fist full of knives. It took Scarlette a full minute to finally snap back into reality as she remarked: "Wait, what?"

Scarlette didn't really have a choice now. She walked up the winding staircase to Jack's study. Across from her was a large, plywood board that completely covered the bookcase.

And that's where Jack stood, with his arms crossed and the silver knives in his hands.

"Scarlette, come stand over here, if you please," he said. Scarlette didn't exactly please to do so, but felt she had to anway. She leaned her back strait against the board. Jack said not move as he made his first aim, but it was very hard not to, as she began trembling all over.

He fired the knife. Never in her life had Scarlette thought she would come face to face with the deadly tip of the sharp metal blade. It had only traveled for a mere two seconds, but it seemed like two minutes.

It landed right above her head. She breathed a sigh of relief. _I'm glad that's over and done_ she thought.

Three more came flying towards her. She gave a yelp. She couldn't look this time. One knife was enough, but three? It wasn't worth it. Her eyes sealed themselves shut until she heard something go _fwump fwump fwump!_ She turned around and saw that the three knives had landed into the white board. Two were on either side of her arms, and the other to the right of her head.

"We are done for now," Jack said. Scarlette almost jumped even at the sound of his voice. After seeing four knives being shot at you, one would become quite paranoid for some time. "You may go now."

Scarlette left without another word.

Later that day, Jack, Sally, and Scarlette were with the children. Jack, Sally, and Scarlette were sitting and chatting a bit on a gravestone bench. Rhett and Marie were talking too, but they were on either side of the bench, where they would be a fair distance from each other. Ella and Vincent were sitting on the ground playing with... something. Sticks? Bones? Both?

"Incidentally, what is a graveyard for?" asked Scarlette.

"It's for burrying dead people," said Rhett. "Actually, we put them in a coffin, which is basically a box, first and then we burry them. Sometimes, if the people are bad, we burry them alive, which is actually kinda fun. And in the Victorian age, there were these bells and-"

"Rhett," said Jack. "Don't scare our new guest."

"What the heck, Dad? First you tell me to live for scaring people, then you tell me not to scare people? Can you believe it, Mom?"

"Whatever your father says," said Sally.

"Ugh!" Rhett stormed off.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Scarlette.

"Oh, he just gets like that," replied Jack.

"He's such a spaz, I know," said Marie.

"Shut up, Marie!" yelled Rhett. He threw his skull to the ground in frustration, then picked it back up and replaced it on his neck. Scarlette stared at him, even though he couldn't see her shocked expression.

"Don't tell me you've nver seen one's head removed," Jack said after he looked at Scarlette's face. To show her again, as if she hadn't seen enough already, he took off his own head and held it in his hands. He looked exactly the same as with his head attached except that... his head wasn't attached.

A familar little bark came floating through the graveyard. He was able to float right through the stones thanks to his ghostly abilities. Seeing Zero, Jack replaced his and took out one of his rib bones and threw it toward the ghost dog.

Scarlette looked as though someone forced her to inhale some frog's breath.

"Rhett, don't scare our guest," Said Rhett as he imitated his father.

"Never mind him," Jack said standing up. "Come with me, Scarlette. There are some things I want to show and tell you."

"Here we are," said Jack showing Scarlette where the holiday doors were standing. Somehow she hadn't noticed that the doors were so natural-looking, so seamless, that it was as though the door had grown as part of the trees themselves. She rubbed her hand against the doors. It felt like it, too. "I wish I could have told you more when I had the opportunity, but this is what I like to call the Heart of the Holidays."

"Why is that?" Scarlette asked.

"Well, on my trips to Christmas Town, I noticed that it only had the door leading to Halloween Town. It didn't have any doors to any other of the holiday worlds."

"Have you been there? To the other holiday worlds?"

"No, just for the sake of their privacy. Besides, going through just one caused enough trouble." He looked behind his shoulder and saw that the moon was very near its highest rise. A grin spread across this bony face. "The time is perfect. Come, Scarlette, I want to show you one of the greatest views in all of Halloween Town."

Scarlette followed Jack out through the forest and up to Spiral Hill. They took their steps up to the highest peak of the curl.

"Now take a good look up to the sky," Jack said pointing above. Scarlette looked up. There were thousands- millions- of stars sparking like pure diamonds. The sky was a deep velvet blue. The moon shone as bright as the all the stars in the world combined, with its beams reflecting on every object. Scarlette's jaw had been lowered at the sight. "You look as though you've never seen the sky at night," Jack laughed.

"Oh, I did, but, just not like this... Not this... beautiful."

"Yes. I think I finally found something Halloween Town has that Christmas Town doesn't."

"What's that?"

"They don't have a special place away from the bright town's lights where you can see a sight like this." For a moment they were both silent. Scarlette's voice was the one to break it. This was the perfect moment to bring something sort of personal up.

"Um, Jack..." she hesitated.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to pry but, just how did you end up here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was just, uh, wondering... how you, uh, died." There was a small pause. Scarlette had thought she had asked the wrong question when Jack smiled in reply.

"Well, to be honest, I don't remember much about it," he admitted. "All I remember was a sharp, cold, stab go through my back, and then I just ended up here without any pain as if nothing happened. I suppose it's a good thing I don't remember much..."

"Oh... Do you think you've changed much since the incident?"

"No, I guess I was the same person I am now, more or less. Come, it's getting late. You've got a long day tomorrow, remember?" That was right. How could she have forgotten that tomorrow was officially a full month since she came to the Skellington house? Then she felt sort of a odd feeling in her stomach. "Don't worry," Jack said as if she had read her mind. "I'm sure everything will be perfect."

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**Till next time!**


	6. The Dinner Party

**Ack! It's seems like forever since I updated. Sorry for the wait. Thanks for being so patient. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas, but you already knew that... right?**

_"I don't believe what's happening to me..."_

"Scarlette, will you go out with me?" Rhett asked. That was when she kicked him in the groin, but let's go back a bit, shall we?

Nine Hours Earlier

Scarlette lay in bed that morning, just waking up to the sun's rays as they beamed through the window. She looked over at the clock. 8:30 A.M. She knew she had a long day to face, but she was feeling confident. All she was thinking about now was relaxing for just a few more-

"Wake up, Scar!" Rhett shouted behind the bed with his head above hers. She yelped and jumped up suddenly, causing her to knock heads with him. "Ow..."

"Hey, it was your fault," Scarlette countered.

"All right now, you two," Sally said as she walked past the bedroom. "You're clothes aren't going to organize themselves. And, Rhett, I want you to wear that vest and cravat."

"Ugh, Mom please," Rhett groaned. "At least let me deal without that ruffled thing. It makes me look like Dad, and I can't tie it right."

"Just ask your father for help. Besides, I think it makes you look quite handsome. Oh, Scarlette, I need to make sure that dress fits you."

The entire Skellington family was aware that today was the day that whether or not Santa would allow them to adopt Scarlette. It wasn't until a week earlier, however, that Santa decided that they would have a dinner party along with some discussions. A _formal _dinner party.

"Hello?" Santa said on the phone that day. "Jack? Hello. I was thinking that next week we should do something special, like, say, a fancy dinner party. Yes! That's perfect! What do say?"

"Well..." Jack said.

"That's great. I'll see you next week, right? Right. Goodbye." Jack still stood there, with the receiver in his hand.

"What is it, darling?" asked Sally.

"I think we just got invited to dinner," Jack replied.

So, yes, everyone had to wear their formal attire, whether or not they liked it. Scarlette wasn't a fan of wearing long dresses, but sucked it all up and dealt with it. She walked into a walk-in closet that was filled with colorful fabrics that were used for sew and tailoring.

"Just hold still, dear, while I double check these measurements," Sally said as she measred Scarlette's wrist.

Scarlette watched as Sally was so careful in her measurements, being ever so careful that it wasn't even a half inch of precise, and making sure that the fabric was at a perfect line. The dress was almost finished, but the ragdoll seamstress insisted that even the cuffs of the sleeves were flawless. Never had Scarlette see someone care so much about sewing clothes.

"All right," Sally said. "Tell me what you think." Scarlette walked over to the sewing machine to examine the dress. Even though the fabric looked like normal gray cotton, the texture was like silk. Normally, Victorian ball gowns would make her yawn, but, for some reason, this seemed... different. It was a little more modern as the skirt made it just to her knees. There was an inch of a black net petticoat visible too.

Scarlette walked into the bathroom and changed. She looked at her reflection in full length mirror. She never thought she'd say this, but she actually liked wearing it.

"Looks lovely," said Sally. "But I think it's missing something." She opened a drawer and took out a black box. There was a fancy chocker inside the box, that looked very old, as if passed down for generations, even though the black silk was smooth and unwrinkled and the white rose cameo untarnished.

Sally tied the black silk around the high collar of Scarlette's dress. It was as if the chocker was created especially for the dress.

"Yes, Scarlette," Sally said. "I think this is perfect. You'd better go and wait in the living room now; we're going to be leaving soon."

Scarlette stood by the door, waiting for everyone else to leave. It just so happened that Rhett was standing there too, adjusting his fedora in the mirror against the wall. Ella and Vincent were on the couch, attempting to tie Zero's ears in a knot again. Other than the ghost dog's yelps, everything was pretty quiet.

That silence apparently needed to be broken.

"Scarlette, will you go out with me?" Rhett asked. She kicked him in the groin and he leaned on the ground in pain.

"Come along, Rhett," Jack said with Sally at his arm. "There's no time to take a nap; we have a dinner party to go to."

"Yeah, Rhett, we gotta go," Marie echoed as she stepped over him.

The Skellingtons and Scarlette looked quite out of place in their Gothic Victorian attire. Here they were sort of dark and dreary against a bright and cheery backdrop. The Christmas Town residents seemed a little too shocked to really say much. But that didn't stop the elf that would always tease Scarlette when she worked at Santa's factory; _He _certainly wasn't distracted.

"Well, lookie here," he snarled. "It's Tartlette and her little gang of boneheads."

"That's _Scarlette_," she hissed. "And don't call them boneheads, either."

"And why are you defending them, huh? You're not a part of their family." Scarlette growled. But before she could do anything else, Jack stopped her. He slipped on a pair of white gloves. "What are you putting those gloves on for?" the elf asked suspiciously.

"So I won't get blood over my hands if your nose bleeds after I hit it." Then _Pow!_ The elf was on the ground before he could take in what happened.

"Nice one, Dad!" Scarlette cheered.

"Hm?"

"Uh, I mean, Jack."

The dinner portion of the dinner party was very... silent. Everyone sat at the table, the only noise being the occassional clatter of of silverware against the white china plates. Quite frankly, everyone looked very bored, even Jack, who was typically the one to bring a bit of excitment to events. In fact, Rhett had even put his hat on the rack after his father did before being told to, thus dodging the hat argument between him and Jack:

"_Rhett, take your hat off."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because it isn't proper etiquette, that's why."_

"_I still don't see what the big deal is. Of course, with that top hat I guess I can understand your old fashioned methods."_

"_Now wait a moment there…"_

And so on. But because there was no hat, there was no arguments, and also talking whatsoever. The only conversation was between an elf and Scarlette.

"Would you like a drink, miss?" asked the elf to Scarlette.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure," Scarlette replied. She lowered her glass and the elf poured a sparkling dark pink liquid into it. She took a sip of the liquid. It was not only appealing to the eye, but also the taste; it had a tasty mint flavor to it. "Hey, this is pretty good," Scarlette said.

Other than that, there was little else, except for "any more?" and "yes, please".

Well," Santa said standing up. "I hate to disrupt the excitment, but I really should be checking on the reindeer. Be back in a moment." After Santa left, Jack glanced over at the children. _Remarkable _he thought. _Not one of the siblings have gotten into a single arguement._ However, he didn't want them to appear lifeless, either.

Quickly thinking, he took a silver spoon from the white tablecloth and dipped it into the creamy potato soup. Pretending that he wasn't paying attention, he lifted up his ruffled cravat that was still around his neck and began to wipe the spoon with it. The result was gleeful giggles from everyone, even the teenagers.

"Oh, dear, this is a predicament, isn't it?" he said with fake carelessness. Then, he exhaled on the spoon and placed it on his nose.

"J-jack, please," Sally said through her laughter. "Y-you're behaving v-very childishly." The one who giggled the most, however, was Scarlette, who seemed to be laughing uncontrolably.

"Scar," Rhett said. "It's funny, but I don't know if it's _that _funny."

"Hahahahahahaha," Scarlette laughed. "So sorry, son haf Lord Skehllington, but hi hink hit's hilarious. Hahahahahahahaha."

"Something isn't right here," Jack said seriously. He took Scarlette's glass (the fifth refill), took the liquid on his fingers, and tasted the drink. His eyes socets jumped to his forhead. "My God, this is champange! They gave you champange!"

"Ah, pain, so sweet," Scarlette said.

"Darling, I'm going to take her outside for some cold water, and will be right back." Jack lifted Scarlette from her seat, her head dangling from his shoulder and grabbed his hat on the way out. He carried her to a fountain decorated with stone reindeer, and dunked her head in the water. "Nothing like a bit of fresh water to freshen you up, eh, Scarlette?"

"Ugh..." Scarlette groaned wiping her face off. "What the heck...? Wait, wasn't I just...? Huh?"

"Long story short, you were drunk," Jack explained.

"What?"

"Yes. Don't worry, you didn't miss the party portion of the dinner party. Come along."

Indeed she hadn't. The family was in the parlor now. There was a phonograph in the corner that was playing "The Entertainer" (albeit quite a scratched version). Everyone was joyfully laughing, talking, and some even dancing.

"Scar! Dad!" Rhett greeted. "You didn't miss a thing!"

"I'll say I didn't!" Jack replied. "Sandy calls that music? Ha! _This _is music." He removed the needle from the phonograph and sat at the piano. His version was much more clean and had practically flawless quality. "And _that _was 'The Entertainer'."

"But can you dance to it?" Scarlette asked.

"You mean like this?" Jack lifted Scarlette from her chair and waltzed her around two feet from the ground. Everyone sitting down began to clap rhythmically.

"They look like there're having fun," Rhett said.

"But is it as fun as it looks?" Marie asked. Before her brother could answer, Marie pulled Rhett from his seat and danced him around the room.

"Oh, Jack, you charmer," Sally laughed.

"Shall I?" Jack asked. He put Scarlette down and danced with his wife.

"Yeah, Jack!" Scarlette cheered.

"Scarlette?" asked Santa. "It's time for your evaluations." Scarlette stopped laughing and just froze for a moment. She had a look of worry, afraid to know what could go wrong.

"Can I go last?" Scarlette asked. He nodded "no".

"Hey, kid," Rhett said. "No matter what happens, you're stuck with us."

"And there's no escaping us," added Marie. Scarlette looked at this family, all wearing encouraging smiles. Now she wore a smile full of hope and confidence as she walked away with Santa into the drawing room.

"Now," he said. "I want you too look at each of these pictures and tell me the first thing that comes to mind." He showed her a picture of a snowflake.

"A Halloween mask," Scarlette answered. Next was an image of a present, ("a coffin") wrapping paper ("mummy bandages"), a bunny ("a praying mantis"), a Christmas tree ("the Hallow Tree"), and Mickey Mouse ("a... what the heck is that thing?").

"Interesting..." Santa replied. He also had the rest of the family voice their opinions about the family.

"Ah, yes," Jack said. "I love my family more than anything. My children are increasing their ability to scare people out of their wits." There was a noise in the background of china breaking. "That was an example of something that is morbidly expensive."

"Of course we'll be willing to let Scarlette into our lives," Sally said. "In fact, she practically is already."

"Mommy! Vincent won't wake up!" Ella screamed.

"Oh, dear, Ella, I told you not to touch tose leaves!"

"Yeah, all in all I can't compain," Rhett said. "Although it can be really-"

"Rhett! What did you with my collar?" Marie screamed.

"You think I want something else around my neck? Shut up already!"

"Where's Daddy?" Vincent asked.

"He's, well, um," Santa said thinking of a good answer.

"Right here!" Jack said entering the drawing room. "Now how's my two little nightmares?" Seeing as the children had quite a short attention span, Santa decided that the interviews were over.

The interviews were over. Santa reviewed the written questions that he had handed out in his study. There was the usual; "My sister is crazier than a spider web" from the eldest brother and both parents were highly approving of their children.

But there was one answer that was the same for a certain question: "What about Scarlette?" They were all very touching notes about what they thought about adopting her.

"Scarlette taught us all about never giving up," was Sally's note.

"Good old Scar. What else can I say?" is what Rhett wrote.

"Scarlette's practically my twin, what with us being only a couple of months apart," was Marie's comment. Though it was almost illegible, the two youngest children wrote something that looked like "I love Scarlit".

But then Santa looked at Jack's note. He was the only one who wrote more than a sentence. Actually, he wrote a whole paragraph. But it wasn't the length of the commnet, but rather, it was what he actually wrote that gave Santa the final decision.

"What makes Scarlette so wonderful?" Jack wrote. "Well, when I first met her, I didn't exactly know what to think; I mean, it's not everyday you meet a Christmas Town orphan at your doorstep, is it? But when I let her into my home, I don't think I can image everyday life without her. In fact, I consider her one of my own children already. But back to the begining: There's actually no words to describe what Scarlette means to this family."

Ten minutes later, Santa exited his study and announced his final decision to the Skellington family.

"Well, Jack," he sighed. "the only thing I have to say is that you and your family are indeed the right family for her." No one said anything, but they knew Scarlette was thrilled because she ran up to Jack and Sally and hugged them.

"Mom..." She whispered. "Dad..."

It was Scarlette's first night in the Skellington house as a family. The walls were repainted a brighter shade of white and the windows were clean and clear. Her cameo chocker was placed in its velvet box and kept in a cherry wood dresser.

"Everything's perfect," she said as she curled up in bed. "There's nothing that could go wrong."

Back at Oogie's lair, the three kids had finished their little sceme. Yes, those bugs were hard to get, but it was way worth it.

"Is he ready?" asked Barrel.

"Oh, yes," replied Shock with an evil grin. The giant sack that had once been flat as a balloon lifted itself off the ground until it was about eight feet tall. It returned the evil grin.

"So good to see you again, Ooige," said Lock.

"Bwahahaha!" Oogie laughed. "Thanks to you kids, I'm back! Watch out, Jack! I'm comin' for you! Bwahahahahaha!"

**Boo! Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. If you leave a comment, I promise I'll give you my special worm's wort pumpkin muffins (yes, I've given in to the infamous muffin gags). By the way, they also come in made specially with mega potions, elixers, ethers, and sweet rolls (play case four in **_**Ace Attorney Investigations, **_**you'll get it). **

**See you next time!**

**-Em.**


	7. Oogie's Revenge

**Well, I hope you enjoyed the muffins. But enough of that; let's get started.**

**Once again, I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton does. But if I did...**

_"I'm the Oogie Boogie Man!"_

Scarlette was awoken by a disturbance echoing through town. She got out of bed and looked out her window. Nothing there... at least nothing she could see from here. That's it; this had been going on for quite some time now, and she was going to finally find out what the heck it was.

Jack was also waken up by this once again and didn't think twice about getting out of bed and seeing what it was.

"Psst. Sally, darling," he said gentling shaking her shoulder. "I think I heard something strange out there again. I need to go and check it out."

"Hm? Oh, yes, Jack, dear, go right ahead," Sally said drifting back to sleep.

So they both walked very quietly down the hall, making sure they didn't make a creak in the floorboards. It was so dark that they couldn't see their hand an inch from their face, which is why they bumped into each other unexpectedly.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP?" they both yelled. That was immediatly followed by shushing each other.

"Well," Jack whispered. "Since we're both up we might as well both find out what that was. Come on. But quietly."

Jack and Scarlette quickly ran through the graveyard. The night was silent. Perfect. They would be able to hear that noise without any distractions.

_"Bwahahahaha!"_

There it was.

"It sounds like it came from under there," said Scarlette pointing to a rickety wooden bridge that hung above a deep, dark crevas. Carefully, they slid down a rope one at a time.

Now they were inside strange little room. There was shelf full of sharp metal objects and cages, and glass bottles with skull and crossbone symbols marked on them. Little brown spiders crawled in through a crak in the wall. An unpleasnt sewer stench filled the air. And there was the white walking bathtub, although it was stationary now. Sleeping perhaps?

"This must be those troublemakers' hideout," Jack said. "Let's take a look here." He crawled in to the end of a tunnel and peered through. "No... Oh, God, no... It can't be him..."

"What?" Scarlette asked. She crawled to the end with him. "Ich! Who is that guy?"

"That is the infamous Oogie Boogie. I thought for sure that I got rid of him twenty years ago. Stay here, don't move." Jack took another rope and slid his way down the wall. _Careful, Jack, _he thought. _It's at least twenty feet from up here. Don't want yourself to-_

SNAP. Somehow, the rope had given up and Jack took a long, hard fall to the ground.

"Ugh..." he groaned rubbing his head. The lights turned black in a flash. The roulette wheel beneath his feet glowed bright colors along with the strange decorations across the walls. Jack stood up, ready for anything; he's known this trick before.

And there he was.

"Oogie Boogie," Jack said through a tight grin.

_Well, well, well. _

_ Look what the bat dragged in._

_ Jack, the Pumpkin King?_

_ Oh, I've been hoping you've come!_

_ Oogie, I'm not here to play games!_

_So you want a talk, do you?_

_ Well, talk we will!_

Two snakes black and white stripped snakes rose from the ground and attached themselves to Jack's legs. He tried to kick them off, but they wouldn't budge. But he wasn't about to give up.

_Is this really the best you've got, Oogie?_

_ Ha! I could do a better job than that!_

_ You're joking. You're joking!_

_ I can't believe ears!_

_ You're joking me, you gotta be!_

_ It's the best laugh I had in years._

_ I see you're pretty pround of your little helpers' scheme_

_ But I've got a little friend here that'll really crush your dreams._

_ You're funny, Jack, you really are, but I know it isn't true._

_ 'Cause we all know that you're Pumkin King days are through._

_ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~_

_ I'm the Oogie Boogie man!_

_ Well, I'm feeling angry and there's much I need to do_

_ And I'm not about to stop because of the likes of you._

_ You think you are so smart, but that's a lot of noise_

_ But since you put on a nice act I'll let you play with my Oogie toys_

_ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~ Whoa~_

_ I'm the Oogie Boogie man!_

"Well, well, won't this be fun," Oogie laughed. Jack looked behind Oogie shoulder. Scarlette was climbing down the wall by another rope she found.

"Actually, Oogie," Jack said. "I believe I will get the last laugh."

"Huh?"

"Hya!" Scarlette grunted. She jumped on a wooden beam that shot a brick in the back of Oogie's head. He fell to the ground face first with a grunt. "You all right, Dad?" Scarlette asked Jack.

"A bit trapped, but otherwise fine." Scarlette picked up a shard of glass and used it to sever the snake binds.

"How are we gonna get outta here?" she asked. Jack stompped his foot and a trap door on the roulette wheel opened.

"Like this. It may not be very comfortable, but it's the quickest way."

"Okay," Scarlette replied. "On three. One..."

"Three!" Jack grabbed Scarlette's arm and pulled her with him down the tunnel. It twisted left and right then straight then right again. And it was fast. To make matters worse, Jack had released his grip on Scarlette's arm and was probaly far ahead of her.

Finally, the tunnel spit her out into the graveyard again. She rolled on the ground until she hit her head on a gravestone.

"Ugh, that's more painful than the tree," Scarlette groaned. She looked up and saw Jack standing there upside down already, his arms crossed.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"When did you strart standing on your head?" Jack turned her rightside up. "Oh."

"C'mon!" They ran through the silent town, the only noise their own footsteps and the trickling fountain. They couldn't believe what had happened; it had only been about a month and a half and already they had to have trouble knock on their door?

We have to tell everyone about this," Jack said. Who would they tell? The Mayor. Sure, he'd probably freak out when he heard the news at the town meeting, but what are you going to do about that? Besides, he'd have to know sometime. When they reached Mayor's house they both banged on the door.

"Jack? Scarlette? What in the world are you two doing at this hour?" the Mayor asked yawning.

"Mayor, we have to have a town meeting immediatly!" commanded Jack.

"But it's three o' clock in the morning. No one's going to-"

"This is urgent!" insisted Scarlette.

At the town meeting, everyone attended the meeting and were all complaining about waking up in the middle of the night and having to interrupt their nightmares. The Behemoth helped the Mayor turn on all the electric lights that illuminated the hall. Soon, Jack and Scarlette entered the stage and stood in front of the podium. The Mayor shined a spotlight on them.

"Listen, everyone," Jack said. No one quieted down. "Everyone?" Still chattering. Strange; you would think they would be a little less loud if there were as tired as they said they were.

"EVERYONE, SHUT IT!" Scarlette screamed. The residents' eyes were all on the stage.

"Thank you. Everyone, I have important news. I was walking with my daughter, Scarlette, after hearing a very strange sound that has been occuring for about a month or so now. Is there any of you who heard it at least once?" Just about everyone raised their hand, except for the Hanging Tree, who always managed to sleep like a log. "I see," Jack continued. "Well, after some, er, investigation, we found the source: Oogie Boogie." There was some concerned murmering in the crowd.

"Isn't that the guy Dad said tried to kill him twenty years ago?" Rhett asked Sally.

"Y-yes," Sally replied in shock.

"But... that can't be possible," the Mayor said in disbelief.

"It's not _probable_. Now, I know this is sudden, but I will try in my best attempts to stop him and bring back this town to what it was meant to be."

Jack had called all the Holiday Leaders together in Town Hall for an emergency council meeting the next day. The Holiday Leaders, however, weren't so pleased. They knew what he wanted to say; he probably wanted to take over at least one of their holidays. But it was an called an emergency, so they all reluctantly took their seats at a long wooden table that replaced the normal seats in Town Hall. The only one missing here was Santa Claus. Everyone tried to contact him, but there was no answer. If only he would've told them what went on.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Jack said grimly. He wasn't saying it this way to scare them. All right, not _just _to scare them, but he really wanted them all to take him seriously, so he had to be in a serious mood. "I'd like to discuss-"

"No," the Leprechaun said flat out.

"But..."

"I'm not about to let _my_ holiday get stolen," said the Pilgrim.

"Neither do I," added Uncle Sam.

"This is-" tried Jack again.

"NO!" they all said at once. That did it. He was way past his boiling point. And he was about to explode.

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?" Jack yelled, which followed by immediatly clapping his hand over his mouth.

"I think he's mad," whispered Cupid to the Leprechaun.

"YOU _THINK _I'M MAD? OKAY, SO I MAY HAVE MY FAULTS, BUT DON'T THINK YOU'RE ANY BETTER THAN ME!" He jumped on the table, stompped across, and pointed to everyone of the holiday leaders as he yelled at them. "Two of you, one who is not here, break into people's homes!"

"Um, Jack," said Cupid. "Easter Bunny here says 'I think you're forgetting that inciden-'"

"Shut up! I'm talking! You force people to fall in love! You celebrate by cooking birds! You celebrate by throwing fire in the air!"

"Well, I'm not the only-" started Uncle Sam.

"I said shut up! And you... what do you even do?" He pointed at the Leprechaun.

"As a matter of fact I-" began the Leprechaun. Then, the Mayor rushed in, breathing heavily. It definetly wasn't good news, as he also wore his panicked pace.

"Jack! Jack!" he cried.

"What?" Jack shouted.

"L-look out there..." the Mayor pointed to the door with his arm shaking. Jack sighed. It was probably something minute, such as the time a black cat fell into the fountain. What a mess that was. But, since he was the Pumpkin King, he felt obligated to see what the "problem" was. He jumped down from the table and opened the door.

"Great God Almighty!" the Pumpkin King said wide eyed.

**So? What do you think? If you want to know what happens next, don't stop reading now. I'll tell you, though, that you're not about to be disappointed. Don't stop the reviewing, either!**


	8. Falling

**Wow, sorry for not updating for a such a long time. I've been doing a lot of stuff before school starts. So without furthur ado, here's the next chapter.**

**I do not own **_**The Nightmare Before Christmas.**_** But you already knew that... right?**

_What will become of my dear friend?_

Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing: A giant spider the Mayor's hearse- times ten! Its eight eyes gleamed yellow and razor sharp pinchers snapped ravenously.

"Mayor," Jack said. "I need you to get these holiday leaders out of here now!"

"But, Jack-" the Mayor said.

"Don't worry about me, just bring them to safety." The Mayor nodded his head and walked onto the stage. He pulled the rope and opened the curtain. Behind it was a door.

"I can get you all to the Hinterlands safely through here," the Mayor told the Holiday Leaders. "And, Jack: Good luck." Jack ran outside, having no strategy of just how he was going to squish this giant thing. All he could do was keep his guard up and dodge the spider's leaps and cobweb spits. _Now what?_ he asked himself.

"Jack!" his wife called. He quickly turned around and saw Sally standing behind their black iron gate. She tossed a nineteenth century steel sword throw the widest gap to Jack. He caught it perfectly by the handle.

"I knew this would be useful someday," he said aloud. "Thank you, Sally!" Quickly thinking, he ran up to the spider and slashed its leg. Unfortunetly, it barely made a scratch. Then he poked it in the eye, but it didn't even blink. As Jack pulled the sword out, the spider took advantage of this delay at spat out a sticky cobweb at Jack. The force was so strong that it not only covered him in the sticky substance, but also sending him flying feet across Town Square until he hit his back against a brick wall, causing some bricks to fall as well. He used all his strenght to try to free himself, but all in vain. "Oh great," he groaned sarcastically.

"Hey, Dad!" Scarlette called. Jack turned his head and saw her running from Dr. Finkelstein's lab with a strange, trasparent liquid in a bottle in her hands. "Grandpa Finkelstein made this in the lab."

"That's great, Scarlette, but is this really appropriate right now?"

"You bet!" Scarlette poured some of the liquid onto the cobwebs. The quite slimey liquid ate away at the cobwebs until they completely disappeared. Then the liquid flowed its way down until it found its new home down a storm drain. It left Jack completely dry.

"Perfect! Thank you, Scarlette, but how did the Doctor manage to make this so fact?"

"He knew something strange like this would happen, so he made it two minutes before this guy came."

"Great. But let's stop talking and try to get rid of it!" Jack placed the bottle in his coat, picked up his sword, and charged at the beast. He stuck his sword in its side and trew himself on its back, pulled his sword back out. Scarlette followed, trying to jump and kick it in the face. But right when she extended her leg, the spider grabbed it with its long pinchers and tossed her in the air. "Scarlette!" Jack cried extending his arm, but she was too far away now.

Rhett caught her just in time.

"Rhett?" she asked after he placed her back on the ground.

"Didn't think I had it in me, did you, Scar?" he asked. After that, Scarlette saw a rock being flung in the direction of the spider. She turned around and saw Marie ready to aim another one at it.

"Marie?"

"We'll take care of it from here," Marie said. "Just get up there and help Dad!" Scarlette nodded her head as the two continued to throw rocks. She ran as fast up the the side of the spider. Jack crouched down and lowered his arm. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up with ease. Together, they began to attack the sipder at random, not caring where they hit it, just as long as they were hitting Jack stopped.

"Wait," he said. "We already know we're not getting anywhere by doing this. We need a better plan." Scarlette examined the spider's back; there had to be something that would symbolize some sort of weakness. Then it finally hit her: On the back of the spider was a giant pattern of orange circles, like a target.

"Dad, look," she said pointing at the shape. "What if we it that right in the center?"

"Brillant, Scarlette!" Jack replied. With all his strength, Jack stabbed his sword into the target. The spider gave a horrible scream. So horrible that even the Pumpkin King himself winced at bit. He quickly pulled the sword out, leaving a puncture wound in the spider's back. Together, Jack and Scarlette stompped on it as it continued to shriek.

But the ear-piercing cry began to grow softer. And it seemed as though the two were gradually getting closer to the ground. Suddenly, there was a _squish,_ like a berry. Scarlette looked down and saw... a piece of paper?

"What's this?" Jack asked picking it up. He scanned its contents. After reading it, he quickly grabbed Scarlette's arm and ran through the Halloween Town gate.

"Well I guess they don't need us now," Rhett said as he and Marie went back inside their house. Then they were prompty scolded by their mother, asking them how in their right minds could they even think of going out in those conditions. Their reply? They simply said that they just wanted to help. Until Dad and Scarlette defeated the icky thing on their own, that is. When they told her about the paper the spider left, Sally went outside to examine it herself.

"Take care of Ella and Vincent, you two," she said running to Dr. Finkelstein's lab. But once again, the eldest siblings turned their back right before the message fell through the sky like a feather, landing face up.

_I thought you would need a little distraction. Now come and have a Christmas to remember._

_Signed,_

_Oogie Boogie._

Jack and Scarlette ran through the snow of Christmas Town, looking up and down. Everything looked the same, all right, but there was a strange... presence in the atmosphere. No one was outside dancing and playing, a definate sign that something wasn't right. Then there was that familar stench polluting the air. A sewer-y stench.

_Bwahahaha!_

"Oogie!" Jack shouted. "Where are you? I know you're here!"

"Up here!" Jack and Scarlette looked up and saw Oogie standing on top of Santa's rooftop, smiling and waving to them mockingly. Santa's sleigh and reindeer were part of the company.

"Where's Santa?" Scarlette demanded, a question she thought she'd never ask.

"Oh, aren't you a curious little girl? Well, if you must know, he's having a Christmas to remember. Catch you later!" Jack watching in total fury as Oogie flew off in Santa's sleigh. Worse, there was nothing he could do to stop him.

"Dad, look!" Scarlette said. She pointed to the door of Santa's workshop. It was boarded up with wood and nails. Jack ran over and sliced the wood with his sword. Luckily, wood was a lot easier to damage than exoskeleton, so they made their way in quickly.

And there was Santa himself, tied to a chair and mouth covered in a scarf. Jack made haste to cut the ropes and scarf.

"Thank you very much," Santa said graciously. "I thought I would be stuck here forever. But what are we going to do about Oogie?" Jack opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. In fact, no words formed in his head, nor in Scarlette's. Funny; Scarlette practically devoted her life to loathing the holiday. Now she would give anything to stop Oogie.

"There goes Christmas," was all she could sigh. Wait a minute; what was that? It sounded like the soft jingling of bells. They were getting louder. The three ran outside and saw a strange version of Santa's sleigh gliding through the air, driven by skeletal reindeer. "What is that?" Scarlette asked.

"That's the sleigh I drove twenty years ago," Jack said in awe. "But... what's it doing here?" It landing in a large patch of snow. And behind the reigns was Sally!

"Jack," Sally said. "Oh, Jack dear, the Doctor had this repaired a long time ago, hoping there would be another use for it. He also made these." She pointed to the trash can on the sleigh's rear. It was filled with innocent-looking, but explosive gifts.

"That's great," Santa agreed. "But the weather forcast is calling for fog. And a lot of it!"

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Sally put her thumb and index finger in her mouth, making a whistle. Zero proudly flew from the captain's seat and to the front of the reindeer gang.

"Perfect!" Jack said. "Give the Doctor my thanks, dear!" Jack ran to the seat and grasped the reigns. Scarlette jumped in too, but Jack didn't signal the reindeer to take off. "Scarlette, you should go home," he said.

"B-but, Dad-" she protested.

"Scarlette dear, I could never forgive myself if something happened to you." Old Scarlette might have screamed yet another argument, only to get nowhere. But this wasn't Old Scarlette; this was New Scarlette. She gave a smile.

"You know, someone very smart told me that sometimes you need to use this." She pointed to her father's heart. "He also said that even though it may take a lot of them, that if they work together, nothing is impossible. And you know what I think? I think that we can both defeat Oogie. Together. What about you?" Jack looked down at his heart and grinned.

"No, Scarlette," he answered. "I _know _we can. Now let's go." Scarlette eagerly jumped in the companion seat. With a crack of a whip, the sleigh took off into the night sky.

"Be careful," Sally whispered.

Santa was right; there was a lot of fog. So much that Jack and Scarlette could barely see their hands an inch from their face. Thank goodness they had zero's bright nose to guide them.

_BANG!_ Something exploded from the rear, causing the sleigh to rumble. Jack turned around and saw Oogie, an explosive present in his hand. So he wanted to play, eh?

"Two can play at this game," Jack growled as he made his way to the rear. He threw his own present at the Boogie Man, but his reflexes were quick.

Meanwhile, families of the Real World looked out their frosted windows to get a glimpse of the action, their televions all on the same channel.

"This is a strange situation folks," the reported said. "Even stranger is, while some of you may be too young to remember, is that something quite similar happened about twenty years ago. However, it is extremely dangerous out there, so do not go outside to get a better look. Repeat, it is extremely dangerous out there, so do not go outside to get a better look.

"Keep driving, Scarlette! Ha ha ha!" Jack commanded with a sinister grin. Scarlette continued to drive, dodging the bombs that exploded into a colorful frezy like fireworks.

Fireworks. Those memories. But they wern't fireworks at all. No, he had to snap out of it. He can't let those memories overtake him. Not now. The past was the past. He had to think of another plan. He looked ahead and saw Oogie right in front of them. His back was turned to them, obviously oblivious to the fact that they were right behind them. Perfect. Jack began to execute his plan by walking past Scarlette to the front of the sleigh.

"Dad, what're you-" she asked.

"Just keep driving!" he insisted. He extended one long, bony leg to the slender backbone of the nearest reindeer. Then the other. His entire skeletal body shaked as a sudden burst of wind blew past him. He managed to keep his balance, but barely. "Easy, Jack," he told himself. "One little slip and you're done for." He continued the steady pattern, one leg after another, until he made it to the end. One chance. All he needed was one, perfect shot.

_BANG! _Oogie was struck with a present bomb and sunk down, down, down, through the thick fog...

... until a field of military weapons.

Jack looked on as Santa's sleigh returned to its owner, not saying a word. Then he turned his head to Scarlette for just one moment.

There was a loud _bang, _yet again. This time, Jack lost all balance and made a lifeless tumble through the star-filled sky. He looked up and saw Scarlette mouth "DAD!" Perhaps she had actually said with her own voice. Yes, she probably did. But he couldn't hear her. In fact, all sound seemed to flood out of his ears, nor smell the scent or taste of smoke, or even feel himself fall. The only sense left was a blurry image of Scarlette.

It was the last thing he saw before mouthing the words "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night," and shutting his eyes.

**Well, it's getting closer to the end, guys, and I hope you're going to stick with me till then. So if you have anything to say, by all means review.**

**Also, some of the previous chapters are probably going to be under construction. Nothing drastic, but just a few changes, so don't be surprised if you're reading the old chapters and see a small detail change, like a different color of clothing. **


	9. Dawning of another Christmas

**Hey, welcome back. I certainly hope you didn't hold your breath. Sorry about the lack of updates; school's been in my way as usual.**

**Once again, I do not own **_**Nightmare Before Christmas, **_**Tim Burton does. My OCs, however, I do own as mine... sort of.**

_How could I be so blind?_

After Santa's sleigh returned to its owner, he quickly caught up to Scarlette. Luckily, the fog had dissolved into the chilling night air.

"Scarlette," Santa called. Scarlette looked behind her and saw Santa driving his sleigh right behind her. "Follow me; I have a hunch about Jack's location." Scarlette grasped the reins and followed Santa down to earth. They landed in front of a large black iron gate. Scarlette and Santa followed Zero through the graveyard, weaving through the small, gray headstones that were all perfectly spaced until he lead the two to a dark corner. Scarlette stopped quickly and took a closer look in the shadows. Walking closer she made out the shape of a bony figure, sitting down and its head bowed down, wearing black and white tattered clothes. Before she could say anything, she looked down and saw a strange little object, like a bone. After picking it up she quickly identified it as Jack's jawbone. She approached him and snapped it back in it's place.

"Scarlette," Jack said weakly. "I'm so sorry."

"Dad, you didn't do anything wrong," Scarlette answered.

"Yes, I did. I tried to make everything right and now look; I've only destroyed it all." His eyes caught sight of Santa standing behind Scarlette. "Santa, I want... need you to deliver those presents. Don't let me get in your way ever again."

"A-all right," Santa replied. But he didn't have the nerve to move just yet.

The ringing of large bells echoed in the distance, playing their beautiful tune, followed by twelve, solid chimes. After the twelth chime a shower of white snowflakes danced through the air. Jack looked up and smiled.

"Look, Scarlette," Jack said. "You're first Christmas together with a family. Isn't it beautiful? And speaking of which..." He shakily raised his arm and reached into his coat and removed a little trinket from his breast pocket. He placed it in Scarlette's hand. She looked into her palm and realized that it was her cameo chocker. She felt the smooth silk between her fingers and gazed at the white carving; just as perfect as she last wore it.

The night she was called Scarlette Skellington.

"I hope you aren't too mad at me," Jack said. "But when I found out Oogie had returned, I wanted to keep a piece of you with me if something happened to me. Yes, I know it was selfish, but you're here right now and that's all I need for my last sight."

"Dad.." Scarlette sighed. Jack took his daughter's hand and placed it over his heart.

"You've grown up so much in these sort months I've come to know you. And that's the greatest gift I could ever ask for." Scarlette felt Jack's grip loosen on her hand and saw his eyes close.

"I love you, Dad," Scarlette said before sobbing out tears. After crying for a few seconds she wiped her tear away and looked down at the cameo chocker. This meant more to her than just another pretty necklace. So much more. And yet she didn't want it with her anymore. She wanted it someplace else. She lifted up Jack's right arm and tied the silk around his wrist, trying her best to tie it in a bow. It was a little lopsided, yes, but she didn't think he would mind. "Come on, Zero," she said standing back up. "Let's go back." Zero lead her to a trap door under a statue.

But Santa still stood there, paying his silent last respects to the fallen Holiday Leader. It was strange; when this happened twenty years ago he thought of it as a lesson to him not to mess with other people's holidays. Not in a cruel way, of course; he wouldn't wish a fatality on anyone. It was in the sort of way a child might scrape his skin because he was running on the pavement when he wasn't supposed to. Now, though, he thought differently. Jack was a husband and father now, and his family forever scarred for life.

"Well, Jack," Santa said. "Scarlette learned something new today: Bad things happen to good people."

A half hour later, the news station reported the sad news, and that the only good thing that has happened was that "at least Santa was able to deliver all his presents on time."

But there was no good news for Scarlette. Jack was gone, the only father she ever knew. She walked through the silent town. The residents probably all cried themselves to sleep by now. She opened the gate to her home and climbed to steep steps. She was about to pull on the spider bell and perhaps be greeted by her grieving family by loving arms.

But she couldn't. How could she? There would forever be a burden on her shoulders of failing at destroying Oogie. Yes, the residents would act like it was just yesterday's news, but she would always know that they would always remember that night just like her. The only way she could come back with her head clear was to finish what her father started. She slowly walked down the stairs and in front of the town's gate. Way in the distance, she could see a small, but vibrant orange light, that looked like it came from a crevas.

"I'm not done yet."

**There's two chapters left until we're done. I know, right? Only two chapters. Anyway, keep the feedback coming. Also, I added some more content in chapter six, so please take a look at that as well.**


	10. Confrontation

**Welcome back. Remember when I said there was only two more chapters? I lied. But I'll post these two chapters up for you on the same day, and the conclusion later.**

**P.S., I do not own **_**Nightmare Before Christmas**_**... as always.**

_"I hope there's still time to set things right..."_

Jack opened his eyes to a shower of snowflakes. It felt as though he was in a dream state. Then he looked at the clock tower above town. 12:30. He struggled to stand up, then collapsed and leaned on a cross. He looked down and saw a familiar silk ribbon around his wrist.

"Scarlette," he muttered to himself. There was a glowing light. He looked up and saw Zero. He had a expression that was a combination of joy (Jack was okay) and fear (Scarlette was in trouble). Jack knew in an instant what Zero was trying to say. "Lead the way," he said.

"Bwahahahahahaha!" Oogie laughed in his lair tossing a set of dice in his hand. "Now that Jack's out of the way, I can execute my plans! Now which wone shall I do first?" He threw the dice on the roulette wheel floor and crouched down to look at the numbers.

"I think you should planning something a little more important, Oogie," a familiar girl's voice said.

"Huh?" Scarlette jumped down from the tunnel and landed perfectly on her feet. Her red eyes seemed to glow with rage.

"I think you know exactly why I'm here." Oogie's confusion melted into a devious grin; her foot was right in the enter of a large slipknot.

"Oh, I do," he said making his way over to a lever. "But that doesn't mean you'll succeed!" Oogie put both hands on the lever and pushed down. The slipknot tightened around Scarlette's leg and she was quickly hoisted above the ground. Then she was found herself directly above a pot of bubbling acid stew. She could feel the heat against her face.

"Oh, Dad," she aloud, "if only you were here!"

"But he isn't, is he? Bwahaha! One... two... three!" Oogie pulled up the lever again, making Scarlette fall straight down. At that moment, Jack grabbed a rope, swung from out of the tunnel, and caught Scarlette on the way to his landing.

"D-Dad?" Scarlette stammered.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Jack said. Oogie stood there in sheer terror. The Pumpkin King showed no effort to hide his anger. "Now, Oogie, I thought you knew better than to harm a young lady." Oogie grinned again, approaching another lever.

"Same here, Pumpkin Head," Oogie said, "I thought you knew better than to fall for the same trick twice!" With the pull of a lever, the roulette wheel glowed and began to spin at high speed. Giant playing cards surrounded them, spinning sharp blades.

"Whoa!" Jack said grabbing Scarlette, who had almost lost her balance. He held her close as he narrowly dodged the blades. After gaining his composure, he grinned mischeviously. "Ha! You think I don't know this trick already?"

"You may know this trick," Oogie said, "but do you know this one?" He pressed a button and bright orange flames spurted from all sides of the roulette wheel. Jack looked at them nervously.

"You're fireproof, aren't you, Dad?" Scarlette asked.

"I am, but you're certainly not! Follow my lead." Carefully, he dodged the spinning card blades with great agility, and jumped over the flames, with Scarlette following close behind. When they were getting closer to Oogie, he smashed another button which summoned a line of giant toy soldiers that fired bullets. As if by instinct, Jack and Scarlette leaped onto the soldiers and used precise footwork to make their way across the bridge. Oogie, face full of fear, frantically hit another button. Scarlette turned around to see a giant blade spinning towards them.

"Jack, look out!" Scarlette screamed. Jack grabbed Scarlette and jumped down safely. When they looked up, they saw Oogie standing atop a large spinning crane directly above the acid.

"Ha! What are you going to do now, Jack?" Oogie mocked. Without him noticing, a fine string dropped from his burlap body and floated in front of Jack's hand.

"How dare you treat my family," Jack said with rage grabbing the string. Oogie's grin dropped to pure terror.

"No..." he said, "not again..."

"So shamefully!" Jack tugged with all his strength on that tiny string, opening Oogie's sack and releasing his bugs. There must have been thousands of them, all in Oogie's shape.

"Now look what you've done!" Oogie screamed as his bugs melted from him. "My bugs! My bugs!" As he began to separate, the tiny bugs fell into the acid all screeching "my bugs! my bugs!" in high pitched voices. Scarlette stared at the scene, her jaw dropped and her body too shocked to move. Jack, however, stood with his arms crossed and scowl across his face, not showing any sign of remorse. As the last bug scurried across the ground, Jack stepped on it, squishing it for good. He pulled the string again and watched as Oogie's sack was gone for good too, ensuring he would never come back.

"Dad..." Scarlette finally said. Jack hugged her tightly, with Scarlette returning it. Scarlette felt tears forming in her eyes again.

"By the way," Jack said, "I think this belongs to you." Jack untied the silk around his wrist and put it in Scarlette's hand. He clasped her fingers to her palm around the necklace.

"B-but how did you-"

"Don't you remember what I told you? When you use this," he points to her heart, "anything can happen." At that moment, a bright spotlight shone on them.

"Hey, look who's here!" Lock said.

"Jack! Scarlette!" the Mayor cried.

"See, there're okay!" Shock said.

"I told you they'd be be down here!" Barrel said.

"Climb on up, you two!" the Mayor said. He released a rope down to their level. Jack held onto Scarlette and they were whisked up to Halloween Town.


	11. Returning

**So here's the next Tell me what you think of this one two.**

_"Jack is back, now everyone see, in our town of Halloween..."_

It was still late at night when the Mayor drove back into Halloween Town. Jack and Scarlette were standing on the sides of the hearse, holding on tightly to it.

"You hear that?" a voice called.

"Huh?" another voice replied. At that moment, Sally walked down the steps of her home and opened the gate.

"Mom!" Scarlette cried.

"Scarlette!" Sally said, "and Jack! Oh my gosh, how in the world-"

"Does it matter, darling?" Jack said as he and Scarlette jumped of the hearse. The three of them shared a tight hug, not noticing how cold the air was. The Mayor honked his horn, waking up everyone in town.

"Jack!"

"Scarlette!"

"They're back!"

_La la la la la la la la! La la la la la la la la!_

_ Jack and Scarlette's back! _

_ And they're back, okay!_

_ They're all right, let's shout!_

_ Make a fuss, scream it out!_

_ Wheeee!_

_ Look who's back, now everyone, see,_

_ In our town of Halloween..._

"It's good to be home!" Jack and Scarlette said simultaniously. Suddenly there was a soft jingle of bells. Everyone looked up and saw Santa's sleight flying through the sky, delivering a shower of snowflakes. After all, it was Christmas day.

"Welcome home!" Santa said.

"Merry Christmas!" Scarlette said waving to him, a smile across her face. Jack looked at her in surprise. Was this a different Scarlette?

"Not a all," Sally said to him as though she had read his mind, "a bit changed, perhaps..." They looked over and saw Scarlette through a snowball right on the crack on the back of Rhett's skull, after which he playfully chased after her. "Perhaps... but you've began to rub off on her. But certainly not different. They both kissed in the snow shower. Jack closed his eyes, and thought about everything that had happened in his life, good and bad, and the many events that would be yet to come.

**I'll be writing an epilogue as soon as I can. Meanwhile, keep the reviews coming, they really give me motivation.**


	12. Epilogue

**Before you begin reading the conclusion, I thought I'd say a few words.**

**This story, as a said in chapter one, is my sort of pet project. If I could I'd march up to Tim Burton and pitch this story to him. But that's next to impossible, considering this is just a fanfiction and I'm just a high school student. **

**So what's my next project? Well, I already have an **_**Ace Attorney **_**one shot, but besides that... hmm... Actually I've got several ideas. I probably will be working on more than one at a time, though (got to get the inspiration flowing). Also, I still may be making minor changes as time goes by to these chapters.**

**As for Scarlette and my other OC's, you've certainly haven't seen the last of them. Maybe it'll be in one shots, crossovers, or whatever, but be sure to keep your eyes open. For now, keep reviewing.**

**As always, I do not own **_**The Nightmare Before Christmas.**_** But I thank you for making this story worthwhile.**

And so, Halloween Town, and all the other Holiday Worlds for that matter, lived safe and sound. That's not to say all their problems were solved; they still held their annual Council of the Holiday Leaders meetings to ensure everything was in tip top shape. But the citizens were able to rest a little easier.

That, of course, includes the infamous Skellington family. Even today, you could knock on the door to the Skellington residence, and be greeted by the Pumpkin King himself, or even his ragdoll wife. Rhett would eagerly great you, tripping on his own feet on the way there and landing on the crack on the back of his skull, perhaps, but eager nonetheless. Marie would be sitting next to the fire, wanting to hear the latest town gossip. Ella and Vincent, of course, will be very excited to have a new playmate to accompany them.

And Scarlette Bellewood Skellington, who had once been a lonely, misfit, teenaged orphan, is now more than happy to tell her tale. Whenever she was spotted strolling through town, at least one person would run up and stop her, and ask her to hear the story again. When she insisted that they've heard it numerous times, they insisted they never tired of it. Of course, she told it again.

And Jack would look on at her, shaking his head in disbelief, not knowing how he could have possibly thought that Scarlette would be different. Why, look at him; he had changed since getting married and becoming a father, but he was still the same old Pumpkin King, with that mysterious mischief in his soul.

_ A short time after that incident, Sandy Claws dropped in_

_ And we were there to great him with our silly little grins_

_ With four skeleton children at hand_

_ And a Chirstmas Town girl, how proudly she did stand._

_ And Sandy asked us that day:_

_ "Do you remember that other night_

_ "When the sky was so dark_

_ "And the moon shone so bright_

_ "That a million small children pretending to sleep_

_ "Nearly didn't have Christmas at all, so to speak?_

_ "And would, if you could, turn that mightly clock back a tune,_

_ "Now, think carefully, you two,_

_ "Would you do it all over again,_

_ "Knowing what you know now, knowing what you knew then?"_

_ Then my Scarlette and I grinned the Halloween grins that we knew_

_ And turned and asked softly of him_

_ "Wouldn't you?"_

**Thanks for reading.**


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